Town closes Minor Street due to worsening sinkhole

By Stan Welch
The Williamston Town Council workshop Tuesday night focused largely on the Minor Street Sinkhole, as Mayor Mack Durham called it. The erosion beneath the road bed in the vicinity of the rear parking lot for the Municipal Center and the ball fields is so bad that the road has been closed.
“We had to do that for the public safety. We wanted to close just one lane but when we got a good look at it, we realized the erosion was well into both lanes, so we just closed it,” said Durham. He added that the Anderson County Transportation Committee will consider funding repairs at their June 11 meeting. “We are hopeful that they will do what they can to assist us.”
“We patched it a couple of years ago, but the patch is what is washing out now,” said Councilman Tony Hagood. “We need to do something more permanent this time.”
Other items due for action at next week’s Council meeting include second reading of the budget, which will be essentially unchanged from the version already approved at first reading. Town Attorney Lee Cole has inserted the language that reflects the millage, but no other substantial changes were made.
Several other ordinances are also scheduled for votes, including the ordinance concerning garbage and trash collection. Second reading of the ordinance establishing two zoning categories to provide for light industrial zones will also take place. First reading on a specific zoning request will also be held.
The Council will also vote to adopt the Anderson County Emergency Plan, a necessary action to make the town eligible for assistance in the event of a disaster, natural or otherwise.